(Thumbnail image: Times Online)

Nigeria is protesting the U.S. government’s decision to place it on a list of nations that support terror.  The African country found itself on the list—along with 13 other countries—after a 23-year-old Nigerian attempted to blow up a plane on Christmas Day.

We’re looking at different perspectives on Nigeria and the terrorist threat from National Public Radio, ABC News Australia, CNN, and Next.com.

Nigeria’s place on the list means its citizens will be subject to strict screening procedures on any U.S.-bound flight.

First, National Public Radio interviews Nigeria's information minister.  She says that not only does Nigeria support terror, the alleged suspect spent most of his life outside the country.

“The population is over 150 million people — we are being defined by the behavior of one person."

On ABC News Australia, terrorism analyst Peter Bergen asks why single out places like Nigeria when recent terror attempts on planes haven’t been made by people from those countries?

 “...it was a British citizen, Richard Reid, who almost brought down an American Airlines flight between Miami and Paris in December of 2001. It is a British citizen that tried to bring down seven American and Canadian airliners in 2006.”

But on CNN a correspondent suggests that there is reason to believe that Nigeria does pose a threat to the United States.  He interviews a radical cleric who has called for an Islamic revolution in Nigeria.

"We feel - we feel, also, we are attacked."

"Who do you blame for causing Nigeria's problems?"

"Clearly the United States of America, which has interests in our oil."

A writer for the Nigerian news site Next.com disagrees, writing that blaming America for Nigeria’s troubles is not the answer.  Nigeria must first solve its own social and political problems.

“…castigating the Americans or begging them for forgiveness is not the way forward; sorting out our plethora of social and political problems is. And the time to start is NOW.”

So, should Nigeria be put on the terror list? Or, is it being blamed for the actions of a few? Should all Nigerians have to undergo stricter security measures in order to travel to the U.S.?

Writer: Paula Hunt
Producer: Nathan Giannini